Override of automatically shared meta-data of media

ABSTRACT

An override of automatically shared meta-data of media method and apparatus are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of a server device includes automatically populating a hierarchy using a play-list history data associated with a media data of a client device, and modifying the hierarchy based on a user override. The hierarchy may be a hierarchy of the play-list history data of certain items associated with the media data of the client device. A modified hierarchy may be generated based on an addition, deletion and/or an adjust modifying operation of the user override on the hierarchy, and may be automatically populated on a new mark-up language file. A new compatibility rating may be determined between the user and the other users based on the similar attributes between the modified hierarchy and the other hierarchies, and each user may be enabled to view mark-up language files of the other users.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation of Non-Provisional application Ser.No. 16/113,627, filed Aug. 27, 2018, which is a Continuation ofNon-Provisional application Ser. No. 14/462,202, filed Aug. 18, 2014,which is a Continuation of Non-Provisional application Ser. No.11/376,049, filed Mar. 15, 2006, both of which are hereby incorporatedby reference herein in their entireties.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

This disclosure relates generally to the technical fields of software,database, and/or hardware technology and, in one example embodiment, tooverride of automatically shared meta-data of media.

BACKGROUND

A user (e.g., a music fan, a movie patron, a computer gaming patron, ane-book reader) may share information about their media preferences(e.g., musical, theatrical, artistic, cultural, hobby, etc.) and theiractivities (e.g., recent behaviors, likings, tastes) through a varietyof mechanisms (e.g., through a web page). For example, the user mayshare information about their media preferences by communicatingthoughts in a blog (e.g., a personal chronological log of thoughtspublished on a web page) and/or in a profile summary in a relationshipnetwork system (e.g., My Space.com®, LinkedIn®, Friendster®, Match.com®,Plaxo®, etc).

The user may have to spend time and/or energy to write down thoughtsabout their media preferences in the blog and/or through therelationship network system. The user may not have a disposition (e.g.,a habitual inclination, a tendency, etc.) to communicate their thoughtsby writing them (e.g., typing them) in the blog and/or through therelationship network system. Furthermore, the user may not recollectwhat types of media (e.g., songs, games, movies, shows, etc.) theyrecently patronized (e.g., listened to, watched, played, read, etc). Theuser may have to search a data processing system (e.g., a computersystem) and/or a media device (e.g., an Apple® iPod®, a mobile phone) todetermine this information.

A marketing organization (e.g., a record label, a vendor, and/or aservice provider) may make recommendations to the user for a new mediapurchase based on business analytics (e.g., transaction patterns such asthose found through comparisons of habits/tendencies of similarpurchasers) of the user (e.g., and/or by other users, customers,subscribers, patrons, etc. associated with the marketing organization).Such business analytics may be limited (e.g., by lack of sufficientdata, accuracy, etc.) in their assessment of the user's preferences.

Furthermore, when the user is repeatedly presented with options that arenot to the user's liking (e.g., the recommendations may not provide anaccurate description of a user's taste in media), the user may choose toignore and/or may lose faith in recommendations of the marketingorganization. In addition, sometimes the new media presented by themarketing organization may be already owned and/or possessed by the user(e.g., causing the user to be annoyed that such an option has beenrecommended).

As a result, the user may verbally speak with like-minded individuals(e.g., friends, family, and/or acquaintances) to get a sense of theirinterests (e.g., the user may trust their recommendations more than thatof the marketing organization). Verbally speaking with like-mindedindividuals can be a slow process because the user may have totelephone, visit, and/or socially meet with the like-minded individuals.Similarly, the user may read periodicals and/or web sites publishinginformation about preferences of other individuals the user admires(e.g., famous musicians, actors, authors, politicians, athletes, etc.).These periodicals and/or websites may be difficult to find and may bepublished infrequently. As such, the user may choose to hold off intransacting (e.g., purchasing) the new media and/may delay developing apassion (e.g., a lively and/or eager admiration of a media form, andgratuitously promoting the media form with focused interest) for theuser's favorite existing media preferences.

SUMMARY

An override of automatically shared meta-data of media method andapparatus are disclosed. In one aspect, a method of a server deviceincludes automatically populating an arrangement (e.g., a collection, ahierarchy, etc.) using a play-list history data associated with a mediadata of a client device and modifying the arrangement based on a useroverride. The arrangement may be an arrangement of the play-list historydata of the certain items associated with the media data of the clientdevice. In one embodiment, the play-list history data may be executableby interested parties as a radio station. A modified arrangement may begenerated based on application of an addition, deletion and/or an adjustmodifying operation of the user override on the arrangement and may beautomatically populated on a new mark-up language file based on themodified arrangement.

The new mark-up language file and the modified arrangement may beassociated with a particular user. In addition, the particular user maybe associated with other markup language files associated with otherusers based on similar attributes in the modified arrangement of theparticular user and other hierarchies associated with the other users. Anew compatibility rating may be determined between the user and theother users based on the similar attributes between the modifiedarrangement and the other hierarchies and each user of the server devicemay be enabled to view mark-up language files of the other users. A newgroup may be formed between the user and at least one of the other usersbased on a threshold parameter of the new compatibility rating.

A modifying operation may be performed on a widget (e.g., user interfaceobject in a graphical user interface) from a group comprising of a partywidget, a personal detail widget, a tag widget, a guestbook widget, aninternal messaging widget, a share widget, a photo widget, a tuned-innow widget, a post widget, a reviews widget, and/or a live event widget.A content data created using the post widget may be automaticallydeleted on the new mark-up language file and an artist mark-up languagefile, an album mark-up language file, a particular item mark-up languagefile, and/or a fan club mark-up language file when the modifyingoperation is a delete operation on the post widget.

In another aspect, a method of a client device includes communicating amedia data to a server device including a play-list history dataassociated with the media data of the client device and allowing a userto modify contents associated to the play-list history data based on auser override. A new mark-up language file may be refreshed using amodified play-list history data associated with certain items of themedia data. A user interface may be provided to allow a user to modifycontents associated to the play-list history data.

In yet another aspect, a network includes a client device to modify anarrangement of a play-list history data based on a user override, and aserver device to automatically update a series of mark-up language filesbased on a modified arrangement of the playlist history data generatedby the user override. In addition the network may include a peer clientdevice that is assigned a kin status with the client device based onsimilarity between the modified play-list history data of the clientdevice and another play-list history data of the peer client device. Thenetwork may also include an admired client device to share an admiredplay-list history data with the client device and the peer clientdevice.

The methods, systems, and apparatuses disclosed herein may beimplemented in any means for achieving various aspects, and may beexecuted in a form of a machine readable medium embodying a set ofinstructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine toperform any of the operations disclosed herein. Other features will beapparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detaileddescription that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitationin the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like referencesindicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a network view of a server device, a client device, a peerclient device and an admired client device communicating media datathrough a network, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is block diagram of the server device of FIG. 1 , having a mediarequestor module, a media processing module, a profile generator module,a transaction module, and a user group generator module, according toone embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the profile generator module of FIG. 2 ,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the client application module of FIG. 1 ,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a system view of the client application module of FIG. 1communicating media data from a peripheral device and/or a client deviceto a new markup language file through a network.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of a data processing systemcapable of processing a set of instructions to perform anyone or more ofthe methodologies herein, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a user interface view of the widget select module of FIG. 3 ,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a user interface view of the new mark-up language file of FIG.2 , according to one embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a user interface view of the artist mark-up language file,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a user interface view of the override module of FIG. 2 ,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method of the server device ofFIG. 1 to automatically populate an arrangement using a play-listhistory data associated with a media data of a client device andmodifying the arrangement based on a user override, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart that describes further the operations in FIG. 11, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a method of the client device ofFIG. 1 to communicate media data to the server device and allow a userto modify contents associated to the play-list history data based on auser override, according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An override of automatically shared meta-data of media method andapparatus are disclosed. In the following description, for the purposesof explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order toprovide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments. It will beevident, however to the one skilled in the art that the variousembodiments may be practiced without these specific details. An exampleembodiment provides methods and systems of a server device 100 (e.g., asillustrated in FIG. 1 ) to automatically populate an arrangement (e.g.,and/or any arrangement or collection such as a music collection on ahard drive) using a play-list history data (e.g., an history of mediaconsumed by a user) associated with a media data 116 (e.g., the mediadata 116 of FIG. 1 ) of a client device 104 (e.g., as illustrated inFIG. 1 ) and to modify the arrangement based on a user override (e.g.,by using the user interface view of the override module 212 of FIG. 2 ).

Another example embodiment provides methods and systems of a clientdevice to modify an arrangement (e.g., an hierarchy) of a play-listhistory data based on a user override, and a server device toautomatically update a series of mark-up language files based on amodified arrangement of the play-list history data generated by the useroverride.

An additional example embodiment provides for a network 102 whichincludes a client device 104 to modify an arrangement of the play-listhistory data through a user interface (e.g., the user interface of FIG.10 ) based on a user override, and a server device 100 to automaticallypopulate a new mark-up language file (e.g., the new mark-up languagefile 214 of FIG. 2 ) using a modified arrangement of the play-listhistory data based on at least one modifying operation of a useroverride. It will be appreciated that the various embodiments discussedherein may/may not be the same embodiment, and may be grouped intovarious other embodiments not explicitly disclosed herein.

FIG. 1 is a network diagram of a server device 100, a client device 104,a peer client device 106 and an admired client device 108 communicatinga media data 116 through a network 102 (e.g., an Internet network, alocal area network, a wide area network, etc.) according to oneembodiment. In one embodiment the client device 104 may apply at leastone meta-data identifier such that it is agnostic of a type of mediaplayer application (e.g., unknown of the type of media playerapplication) compatible with the media data 116. The client device 104may include a client application module 110 and/or a peripheral device112 according to one embodiment. The client application module 110 maybe best understood with reference to FIG. 4 , as will later bedescribed. In one embodiment the server device 100 may automaticallypopulate a new mark-up language file (e.g., the new mark-up languagefile 214 of FIG. 2 ) using a playlist history data associated with atleast some content (e.g., media content) identified by the at least onemeta-data identifier. The peer client device 106 may be assigned a kinstatus with the client device 104 (e.g., related to the client device104) based on a similarity between the play-list history data of theclient device 104 and another play-list history data of the peer clientdevice 106 according to one embodiment. In one embodiment the admiredclient device 108 may share an admired play-list history data (e.g., aplay-list history data admired by the client device 104 and/or the peerclient device 106) with the client device 104 and the peer client device106. The client device 104, the peer client device 106 and the admiredclient device 108 may together form a client group 114 (e.g., shown onthe mark-up language file 214 by the client group display 808 of FIG. 8) based on similarities in the play-list history data. Additionaldetails of FIG. 1 are best understood with reference to FIG. 2 , FIG. 3and FIG. 4 .

FIG. 2 is block diagram of the server device 100 of FIG. 1 having amedia requestor module 200, a media processing module 202, a profilegenerator module 204, a user profile database 206, a media database 208,a relationship module 210, an override module 212, a transaction module216, and a new mark-up language file 214 according to one embodiment.The media requestor module 200 may create a media data request (e.g.,request for media data 116 of FIG. 1 ) and the server device 100 maycommunicate the media data request to the client device 104 through thenetwork 102 as illustrated in FIG. 1 , according to one embodiment.

In one embodiment the server device 100 analyzes the media data 116 ofthe client device 104 to determine at least one meta-data identifierassociated with the media data 116 and automatically populates a newmark-up language file (e.g., the new mark-up language file 214 of FIG. 2) using a play-list history data associated with certain items of themedia data 116. Specifically the media processing module 202 may processthe media data 116 received from the client device 104. The mediaprocessing module 202 may include a data analyzer 218 and mediaalgorithms 220. The data analyzer 218 may be used to analyze the mediadata 116 using a processor (e.g., such as a processor 602 of FIG. 6 ) todetermine at least one meta-data identifier associated with the mediadata. The data analyzer 218 may also reference media algorithms 220and/or a media database 208 to analyze and/or process the media data 116communicated by the client device 104. The media data 116 received bythe data analyzer 218 may be multimedia data according to oneembodiment. Particularly, at least one meta-data identifier may bedetermined by the data analyzer 218 by referencing media algorithms 220and/or media database 208 and carrying out a comparative analysis of themedia data (e.g., a comparison of audio data embedded in the multimediadata with a known value in the media database 208) to identify content(e.g., media content) associated to the at least one meta-dataidentifier.

The profile generator module 204 may be used to generate a user profile(e.g., a user media profile) based on analyzing a user's media data 116(e.g., analysis of a playlist history data associated with certain itemsof the media data, meta-data identifier, etc.) communicated by theclient device 104 (as illustrated in FIG. 1 ) and associating anarrangement of the play-list history data and a new mark-up languagefile (e.g., the new mark-up language file 214 of FIG. 2 ) which mayinclude the arrangement of the playlist history data to the user. Theprofile generator module 204 is best understood with reference to FIG. 3, as will later be described.

The relationship module 210 may establish relationships between aparticular user profile and other user profiles by associating aparticular user with other mark-up language files associated with otherusers based on similar attributes (e.g., songs, artists, albums, movies,genre, authors, etc.) in the arrangement (e.g., arrangement of theplaylist history data) of the particular user and other hierarchiesassociated with other users, according to one embodiment. In oneembodiment the relationship module 210 may include a profile analyzer222 and compatibility algorithms 224. The profile analyzer 222 mayreference the user profile database 206 and/or the compatibilityalgorithms 224 to analyze and establish relationships between aparticular user profile and other user profiles. Specifically, theprofile analyzer 222 may determine a compatibility rating between theuser and the other users based on similar attributes (e.g., songs,artists, albums, movies, genre, authors, etc.) between the arrangement(e.g., hierarchy of the play-list history data of the user) and theother hierarchies (e.g., arrangement of the playlist history data of theother user) and enable each user of the server device 100 (illustratedin FIG. 1 ) to view mark-up language files (e.g., web pages) of theother users.

In one embodiment the relationship module 210 may register (e.g., relateand/or connect) a particular one of the other users when the particularone of the other users responds to a hook data (e.g., an invitation toconnect, invitation to join a group, etc.) in a communication betweenthe user and the other users. The relationship module 210 may also forma group (e.g., the client group 114 illustrated in FIG. 1 ) between theuser (e.g., the client device 104 of FIG. 1 ) and at least one of theother users (e.g., the peer client device 106 of FIG. 1 ) based on athreshold parameter (e.g., a certain value) of the compatibility rating.The group (e.g., the client group 114 illustrated in FIG. 1 ) may alsoinclude an admired user (e.g., the admired client device 108 of FIG. 1 )whose contribution (e.g., play-list history data of the admired user,suggestions, media discovery, etc.) may be shared with the group. Therelationship module may automatically populate details of a group (e.g.,client group display 808 as illustrated in FIG. 8 ) to the user'smark-up language file (e.g., the new mark-up language file 214 of FIG. 2).

The override module 212 may be used to facilitate a user override (e.g.,manually override automatic system settings) to modify the arrangementof the play-list history data associated with the media data 116. In oneembodiment the server device 100 of FIG. 1 may generate a modifiedarrangement based on applying an addition (e.g., adding media content),deletion (e.g., deleting media content) and/or an adjust (e.g., changingand/or replacing media content) operation of the user override on thearrangement and automatically populating a new mark-up language file(e.g., the new mark-up language file 214 of FIG. 2 ) based on themodified arrangement. Specifically the arrangement of the play-listhistory data associated with media data 116 communicated by the profilegenerator module 204 may be modified with the help of a user interface(e.g., the user interface view of the override module 212 of FIG. 10 )to generate a modified arrangement. This modified arrangement may thenbe populated on the new mark-up language file 214. For example, based ona particular user's usage pattern the system may decide a user's mediahistory (e.g, “Summer of 69” as the last song played, etc.) or a user'smedia rating (e.g., Bryan Adams as the top artist this month, etc.). Butthe user may have consumed other media (e.g., listened to Aerosmith on afriend's computer and/or a radio station, etc.) which may not have beenaddressed by the system. User override allows the user to manuallyoverride the system settings and replace media content with a moreaccurate description of the user's media consumption (e.g., replaceBryan Adams in the example with Aerosmith). The user interface view ofoverride module 212 is best understood with reference to FIG. 10 , aswill later be described.

The profile generator module 204 may then be used to generate a new userprofile (e.g., a modified user profile) based on the modifiedarrangement. The relationship module 210 may also be used to develop newgroups (e.g., like the client group display 808 of FIG. 8 ) andrelationships based on the modified arrangement generated by theoverride module 212 between the user (e.g., client device 104 of FIG. 1) and at least one of the other users (e.g., peer client device 106and/or admired client device 108) based on a threshold parameter of thenew compatibility rating. Specifically a new profile (e.g., a modifieduser profile) for a user may be generated by associating the particularuser with the new mark-up language file 214 and the modifiedarrangement. The particular user may also be associated with othermark-up language files associated with other users based on similarattributes (e.g., songs, artists, albums, movies, genre, authors, etc.)in the modified arrangement of the particular user and other hierarchiesassociated with other users. A new compatibility rating may bedetermined between the user and the other users based on similarattributes between the modified arrangement and the other hierarchies bya procedure similar to the one described for the relationship module 210of FIG. 2 .

In one embodiment, the modifying operation may be performed on a widgetfrom a group comprising of a party widget, a personal detail widget(e.g., the personal detail widget 816 of FIG. 8 ), a tag widget (e.g.,the tag widget 906 of FIG. 9 ), a guestbook widget, an internalmessaging widget (e.g., the internal messaging widget 904 of FIG. 9 ), ashare widget (e.g., the share widget 814 of FIG. 8 ), a photo widget(e.g., the photo widget 812 of FIG. 8 ), a tuned-in now widget (e.g.,the tuned-in now widget 908 of FIG. 9 ), a post widget (e.g., the postwidget 902 of FIG. 9 ), a reviews widget, and/or a live event widget.Especially when a delete operation is performed on the post widget(illustrated in FIG. 9 ), content data created using the post widget 902may be automatically deleted from the new mark-up language file 214 andfrom an artist mark-up language file, an album mark-up language file, aparticular item mark-up language file, and/or a fan club mark-uplanguage file simultaneously. For example by deleting a particular postwidget (e.g., post on Bob Dylan) from the new mark-up language file(e.g., the mark-up language file 214 of FIG. 2 ) the post not only getsdeleted from the mark-up language file 214 but also gets deleted fromthe artist mark-up language file (e.g., the artist mark-up language file900 of FIG. 9 belonging to Bob Dylan) simultaneously.

The transaction module 216 may process a payment from an interestedparty (e.g., vendor, service provider, etc.) when the new mark-uplanguage file (e.g., the new markup language file 214 illustrated inFIG. 2 ) develops a patron base (e.g., a fan following, popularity,etc.) above a threshold value (e.g., number of hits that the new mark-uplanguage file may receive) and may display an advertisement (e.g., theadvertisement 810 in FIG. 8 ) of the interested party on the new mark-uplanguage file 214.

In one embodiment, operations may begin in the server device 100 of FIG.1 when the media data 116 requested by the media requestor module 200from the client device 104 is received by the media processing module202. Specifically, the media data 116 may be transmitted to dataanalyzer 218. The data analyzer 218 may then reference media algorithms220 and/or media database 208 to determine the meta-data identifierand/or identify the content associated with the meta-data identifier ofthe media data 116 based on a comparison of the audio data embedded inthe multimedia data of media data 116 with the media database 208. Theprofile generator module 204 may then generate a user profile based onassociating the arrangement of the play-list history data of the mediadata and the new mark-up language file with the user. The user profilemay be stored in the user profile database 206. The profile generatormodule 204 may further process the media data and automatically populateit on the new markup language file (e.g., based on the widgets selectedby the user though the widget select module 310 as described later inFIG. 3 ).

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the profile generator module 204 of FIG. 2having a widget generator module 300, a data analyzer 302, a mediaupdate module 304, a media history module 306 and a media rating module308, according to one embodiment. The widget generator module 300 may beused to generate and apply widgets chosen (e.g., based on a preferenceof a user) from a group of widgets (e.g., a party widget, a personaldetails widget, a guestbook widget, an internal messaging widget, ashare widget, a photo widget, a tuned-in now widget, a post widget, areviews widget, a live event widget, and/or a media sample widget, etc.)to the new mark-up language file (e.g., the new markup language file 214of FIG. 2 ).

According to one embodiment the widget generator module 300 may includea widget select module 310, a tag module 312, a party module 314, aguestbook module 316, a tuned-in now module 318, a live event module320, a photo module 322, a reviews module 324, a personal detail module326, an internal messaging module 328, a post module 330, a share module332 and a media sample module 334. The widget select module 310 mayprovide a user interface for selecting widgets. The widget select module310 is best understood with reference to FIG. 7 , as will later bedescribed.

The tag module 312 may be used to generate a tag widget (e.g., the tagwidget 906 of FIG. 9 ) to allow a user to avail the tag feature (e.g.,display top tags, tag a song, etc.) in the new mark-up language file 214(illustrated in FIG. 2 ). The party module 314 may be used to generate aparty widget to allow a user to publicize party information (e.g.,parties hosted next week, top parties, etc.) through the new mark-uplanguage file 214. The guestbook module 315 may be used to generate aguestbook widget to allow a user to receive comments (e.g., related tothe users page, suggestions, etc.) from other users through the newmark-up language file 214. The tuned-in now module 318 may be used togenerate a tuned-in now widget (e.g., the tuned-in now widget 908 ofFIG. 9 ) which may be displayed on a artist mark-up language file (e.g.,the artist mark-up language file 900 of FIG. 9 ), an album mark-uplanguage file, a particular item markup language file and/or a fan clubmark-up language file to provide a user with information about otherusers availing similar media content (e.g., other users tuned in to thesame song, album, artist, etc.) in real time. The live event module 320may be used to generate a live event widget to allow a user to provideinformation regarding live events (e.g., live events happening thisweek, best live events in the country, etc.) on the new mark-up languagefile 214. The photo module 322 may be used to generate a photo widget(e.g., the photo widget 812 of FIG. 8 ) to permit a user to upload apicture to the new mark-up language file 214.

The reviews module 324 may be used to generate a reviews widget to allowa user to review media (e.g., review a song, artist, album, etc.) on theartist mark-up language file, the album markup language file, theparticular item mark-up language file, the fan club mark-up languagefile and/or the new mark-up language file 214. The personal detailmodule 326 may be used to generate a personal detail widget (e.g., thepersonal detail widget 816 of FIG. 8 ) to allow a user to share personalinformation (e.g., Name, Age, Sex, etc.) on the new mark-up languagefile 214. The internal messaging module 328 may be used to generate aninternal messaging widget (e.g., the internal messaging widget 904 ofFIG. 9 ) to permit a user to communicate to other users on the serverdevice 100 (e.g., the server device 100 of FIG. 1 ) through the newmark-up language file 214. The share module 332 may be used to generatea share widget (e.g., the share widget 814 of FIG. 8 ) to allow a userto share his/her mark-up language file 214 with other users on theserver device 100. The media sample module 334 may be used to generate amedia sample widget to permit a user to sample a media segment (e.g., a30 second media segment) of certain items (e.g., a song, a movie, etc.)of the media data 116 that is associated with the play-list history onthe new mark-up language file 214. In one embodiment, the play-listhistory data may executable by interested parties (e.g., other users) asa radio station (e.g., and/or a video station, a multi-media channel, asa streaming video channel, etc.).

The post module 330 may be used to generate a post widget (e.g., thepost widget 902 of FIG. 9 ) to allow a user to author (e.g., write) apost and the content of the post may be automatically displayed on thenew mark-up language file 214 as well as on an artist mark-up languagefile, an album mark-up language file, a particular item mark-up languagefile and/or a fan club mark-up language file, according to oneembodiment. In one embodiment the post module 330 may display thecontent data of the post before other content data (e.g., other contentdata of other posts) when a peer client device (e.g., the peer clientdevice 106 of FIG. 1 ) affiliated with the client device (e.g., theclient device 104 of FIG. 1 ) reaches the artist mark-up language file,the album mark-up language file, the particular item mark-up languagefile and/or the fan club mark-up language through the new mark-uplanguage file 214. For example, when a user, say John Doe, reaches anartist mark-up language file (e.g., the artist mark-up language file 900of FIG. 9 pertaining to Bob Dylan) through the new mark-up language file(e.g., the new mark-up language file 214 of FIG. 8 belonging to Evan deBoer), John Doe will see posts authored by Evan de Boer before otherposts on the Bob Dylan page.

In one embodiment the data analyzer 302 may analyze the media data 116and transmit it to populate the new mark-up language file 214 as perinstructions communicated by the media update module 304, the mediahistory module 306, the media rating module 308 and/or the widget selectmodule 310. The data analyzer 302 may analyze and/or organize the mediadata 116 by linking the meta-data identifier determined by the mediaprocessing module 202 (illustrated in FIG. 2 ) with its correspondingplay-list history data whose content has been identified by themeta-data identifier. The data analyzer 302 may also generate a userprofile by associating an arrangement of the play-list history data andthe new mark-up language file (e.g., the mark-up language file 214 ofFIG. 2 ) which may include the arrangement of the playlist history datato a user. The data analyzer 302 may communicate the user profile to theuser profile database 206 (illustrated in FIG. 2 ).

The media update module 304 may be used to generate a media update(e.g., the media update 804 in FIG. 8 ) that may be displayed on the newmark-up language file 214 to reflect any changes to the user's mediacollection (e.g., recent movies added to collection, new books read,etc.). The media history module 306 may be used to provide a mediahistory (e.g., the media history 802 of FIG. 8 ) on the new mark-uplanguage file 214 to provide a chronology of a user's media consumption(e.g., last songs played, last movies seen, etc.). The media ratingmodule 308 may be used to generate a media rating (e.g., the mediarating 806 of FIG. 8 ) on the new mark-up language file 214 based on astatistical analysis of a user's media consumption (e.g., top songs thismonth, top parties this month, etc.).

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the client application module 110 of theclient device 104 of FIG. 1 having a data analyzer 400, a client devicescan module 402, a peripheral device scan module 404, a meta-dataidentifier module 406 and a play-list history data module 408, accordingto one embodiment. In one embodiment the client device 104 communicatesa media data (e.g., the media data 116 of FIG. 1 ) to a server device100 to determine at least one meta-data identifier associated with themedia data and/or automatically refreshes a new mark-up language file(e.g., the new mark-up language file 214 of FIG. 2 ) using a play-listhistory data associated with certain items of the media data 116. Inparticular the client application module 110 may scan a client device104 (illustrated in FIG. 1 ) and/or a peripheral device 112 (illustratedin FIG. 1 ) for media data 116 (illustrated in FIG. 1 ), generate aplay-list history of the media data 116, tag the media data with ameta-data identifier and/or communicate the media data 116 to a serverdevice 100 (illustrated in FIG. 1 ). The client device scan module 402may scan for media data (e.g., the media data 116 of FIG. 1 ) on theclient device 104 which may be a two-way mobile communication device(e.g., cell phone of FIG. 5 ). The peripheral device scan module 404 mayscan for media data (e.g., the media data 116 of FIG. 1 ) on theperipheral device 112 (illustrated in FIG. 1 ) which may be a portablemedia player (e.g., mp3 player of FIG. 5 ).

The meta-data identifier module 406 may be used to generate a meta-dataidentifier in a manner in which the client application module 110 may beagnostic of the type of media player application (e.g., unknown of thetype of media player application) compatible with the media data 116,according to one embodiment. The meta-data identifier module 406 maythen apply the meta-data identifier to tag the media data (e.g., themedia data 116 of FIG. 1 obtained by scanning the client device 104and/or the peripheral device 112) with a unique identifier in a mannerin which the client device 104 may be agnostic of the type of mediaplayer application compatible with the media data.

The play-list history module 408 may generate a play-list history fromthe media data 116 obtained from the client device 104 and/or theperipheral device 112 based on an analysis of the usage pattern of theclient device 104 and/or the peripheral device 112. The play-listhistory module 408 may also develop an arrangement of the play-listhistory data associated with the certain items of the media data 116,according to one embodiment. The data analyzer 400 may be used toanalyze the media data request from the server device 100 and/or mayprocess and compile the media data 116 (illustrated in FIG. 1 ) with thehelp of a processor (e.g., the processor 1012 of FIG. 10 ) by using theclient device scan module 402, the peripheral device scan module 404,the meta-data identifier module 406 and/or the play-list history module408 and communicate the media data 116 to the server device 100.

In one embodiment, operations may begin in the client device 104 of FIG.1 when it receives a request for media data from the media requestormodule 200 of FIG. 2 . Specifically the media data request may bereceived by the data analyzer 400 of the client application module 110of FIG. 4 . The client device scan module 402 may then scan the clientdevice for media data. Similarly the peripheral device scan module 404may also scan the peripheral device for media data. This media data maythen be received by the data analyzer 400 which may then link it to aunique meta-data identifier generated by the meta-data identifier module406. The play-list history module 408 may develop an arrangement of theplay-list history data based on an analysis of the usage pattern of theclient device 104 and/or the peripheral device 112. The data analyzer400 may analyze the play-list history data and the meta-data identifierassociated to the media data, compile the media data and/or communicatethe media data to the server device 100 of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is a system view of the client application module 110 which mayextract and compile the media data 116 from a client device (e.g., acell phone) and/or a peripheral device (e.g., an mp3 player) and/orcommunicate the media data 116 over a network 102 to a server device100. The server device 100 may then process the media data 116 and/orautomatically populate the same on to a new mark-up language file 214.

FIG. 6 shows a diagrammatic representation of machine in the exampleform of a computer system 600 within which a set of instructions, forcausing the machine to perform anyone or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein, may be executed. In various embodiments, the machineoperates as a standalone device and/or may be connected (e.g.,networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine mayoperate in the capacity of a server and/or a client machine inserver-client network environment, and/or as a peer machine in apeer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine may be apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (8 TB), a PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, anetwork router, switch and/or bridge, an embedded system and/or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential and/orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further,while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individuallyand/or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions toperform anyone and/or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 600 includes a processor 602 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), and/orboth), a main memory 604 and a static memory 606, which communicate witheach other via a bus 608. The computer system 600 may further include avideo display unit 610 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) and/or acathode ray tube (CRT). The computer system 600 also includes analphanumeric input device 612 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 614 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 616, a signal generationdevice 618 (e.g., a speaker) and a network interface device 620.

The disk drive unit 616 includes a machine-readable medium 622 on whichis stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 624)embodying anyone or more of the methodologies and/or functions describedherein. The software 624 may also reside, completely and/or at leastpartially, within the main memory 604 and/or within the processor 602during execution thereof by the computer system 600, the main memory 604and the processor 602 also constituting machine-readable media.

The software 624 may further be transmitted and/or received over anetwork 626 via the network interface device 620. While themachine-readable medium 622 is shown in an example embodiment to be asingle medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should be taken toinclude a single medium and/or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedand/or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding and/or carrying a set of instructions for execution bythe machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the various embodiments. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to,solid-state memories, optical and magnetic media, and carrier wavesignals.

FIG. 7 is a graphical user interface view of the widget select module310 used to select widgets for the new mark-up language file 214.Available widget view 700 shows a list of widgets that a user can pick.Chosen widget view 702 shows a list of widgets chosen from the availablewidget view 700. Widgets may be dragged and dropped from the availablewidget view 700 to the chosen widget view 702. A user can edit aparticular widget using the edit buttons in the chosen widget view 702.

FIG. 8 is a graphical interface view of a new mark-up language file 214of FIG. 2 . Media collection 800 may show the entire media collection ofa user. Media history 802 may show a list of media consumed by the userin a chronological order (e.g., last songs played by the user). Mediaupdate 804 may reflect any changes in the user's media collection (e.g.,new media added to the user's collection). Media rating 806 may providea rating based on a statistical analysis of the user's media consumption(e.g., top artist, top song, etc.). Client group display 808 may showlist of other users connected to the user based on similarities in mediaconsumption of the user and the other users. Advertisement 810 may be anadvertisement from an interested party from whom a payment may beprocessed to display the advertisement on the new mark-up language file214. Photo widget 812 may be one of the widgets that a user can selectfrom the widget select module 310 to display a picture on the newmark-up language file 214. Share widget 814 may be a widget for a userto share his/her mark-up language file with other users on the serverdevice 100. Personal detail widget 816 may be a widget for the user toprovide his/her personal information (e.g., Name, Age, Sex, etc.) on thenew mark-up language file 214.

FIG. 9 is a graphical interface view of an artist mark-up language file900. Internal messaging widget 904 may be used to communicate with otherusers of the server device 100. Tag widget 906 may display a list oftags for a particular media and/or allow a user to provide a tag ofhis/her choice for the particular media. Tuned-in now widget 908 maydisplay a list of users tuned-in to a particular media in real time(e.g., list of users on the server device 100 listening to a particularsong in real time). Post widget 902 may allow a user to create a post onthe new mark-up language file 214, the artist mark-up language file, thealbum mark-up language file, the particular item mark-up language file,and/or the fan club mark-up language file.

FIG. 10 is a graphical interface view of the override module 212 of FIG.2 . The interface may allow for a user to modify contents associated tothe play-list history data (e.g., thereby generating a modifiedhierarchy of the play-list history data) of the media data 116. Mediahistory view 1000 may provide a chronology of media consumed (e.g., lastsongs played). Media collection view 1002 may display the entire mediacollection held by a user. Client group view 1004 may display the groupformed by the relationship module 210 of FIG. 2 based on similarities inmedia consumption. Media update view 1006 may display the changes in auser's media collection (e.g., recently added to music collection). Theuser may modify (e.g., add, delete, change and/or replace) contents withthe help of adjust buttons provided in the user interface.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method of the server device(illustrated in FIG. 1 ) to automatically populate an arrangement (e.g.,a hierarchy) using a play-list history data associated with a media data(e.g., the media data 116 of FIG. 1 ) of a client device (illustrated inFIG. 1 ) and/or modifying the arrangement based on a user override,according to one embodiment. In operation 1102, an arrangement (e.g., ahierarchy) may be populated automatically using an existingmedia-collection data (e.g., a play-list history data) associated with amedia data of a client device. In operation 1104, the arrangement may bemodified based on a user override (e.g., by using the override module212 of FIG. 2 ). In operation 1106, a modified arrangement (e.g.,hierarchy) may be generated based on an addition, deletion and/or anadjust modifying operation of the user override on the arrangement. Inoperation 1108, a new mark-up language file (e.g., the new mark-uplanguage file 214 of FIG. 2 ) may be automatically populated based onthe modified arrangement.

In operation 1110, the new mark-up language file and the modifiedarrangement (e.g., hierarchy) may be associated with a particular user(e.g., by using the profile generator module 204 of FIG. 2 ). Inoperation 1112, the particular user may be associated with other mark-uplanguage files associated with other users based on similar attributesin the modified arrangement of the particular user and the otherarrangements associated with the other users.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart that describes further the operations in FIG. 11, according to one embodiment. FIG. 12 begins with a circle A′ thatconnotes a continuation from operation 1112 of FIG. 11 (e.g., FIG. 11concludes with the circle A′). First in operation 1202, a newcompatibility rating may be determined (e.g., by using the relationshipmodule 210 of FIG. 2 ) between the user and the other users based on thesimilar attributes between the modified arrangement (e.g., hierarchy)and the other arrangements. In operation 1204, each user of the serverdevice may be enabled to view mark-up language files of the other users.In operation 1206, a new group (e.g., like the client group display 808of FIG. 8 ) may be formed between the user and at least one of the otherusers based on a threshold parameter of the new compatibility rating.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a method of the client device tocommunicate media data to the server device and/or allow a user tomodify contents associated to the play-list history data based on a useroverride, according to one embodiment. In operation 1302, a media datamay be communicated to a server device (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 1 )which may include an existing media-collection data (e.g., a play-listhistory data) associated with the media data of the client device. Inoperation 1304, a user may be allowed to modify contents associated tothe existing media-collection data (e.g., the play-list history data)based on a user override (e.g., by using the user interface of FIG. 10). In operation 1306, a new mark-up language file (e.g., the mark-uplanguage file 214 of FIG. 2 ) may be refreshed using a modified existingmedia-collection data (e.g., play-list history data) associated withcertain items of the media data (e.g., the media data 116 of FIG. 1 ).

Although the present embodiments have been described with reference tospecific example embodiments, it will be evident that variousmodifications and changes may be made to these embodiments withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments.For example, the various devices, modules, analyzers, generators, etc.described herein may be enabled and operated using hardware circuitry(e.g., CMOS based logic circuitry), firmware, software and/or anycombination of hardware, firmware, and/or software (e.g., embodied in amachine readable medium).

For example, the client application module 110 (and all the modules inthe client application module 110 as illustrated in FIG. 4 ), the mediarequestor module 200, the media processing module 202, the profilegenerator module 204, the relationship module 210, the override module212, the transaction module 216, the widget generator module 300 (andall the modules within the widget generator module 300), the mediaupdate module 304, the media history module 306, and/or the media ratingmodule 308, may be enabled using transistors, logic gates, andelectrical circuits (e.g., application specific integrated ASICcircuitry) using a client circuit, a media requestor circuit, a mediaprocessing circuit, a profile generator circuit, a relationship circuit,a override circuit, a transaction circuit, a widget generator circuit, amedia update circuit, a media history circuit, and/or a media ratingcircuit.

In addition, it will be appreciated that the various operations,processes, and methods disclosed herein may be embodied in amachine-readable medium and/or a machine accessible medium compatiblewith a data processing system (e.g., a computer system), and may beperformed in any order. Accordingly, the specification and drawings areto be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for overriding automaticallygenerated media metadata, comprising: generating a history log of mediadata usage associated with a first user profile of a first user;automatically generating an arrangement, without user interaction, ofthe one or more media object identifiers for display on a graphical userinterface based on the history log; outputting for display on thegraphical user interface of a client device associated with the firstuser profile, at least a portion of the arrangement of one or more mediaobject identifiers; receiving an override operation, the overrideoperation altering the history log of media data usage; andautomatically modifying the one or more media object identifiers of thearrangement in accordance with the altered history log of media datausage.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: populating amark-up language representation based on the modified one or more mediaobject identifiers; and and transmitting the mark-up languagerepresentation to a client device associated with the first user.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein modifying the one or more media objectidentifiers of the arrangement comprises at least one of an addition,deletion and adjustment of one or more media object identifiers.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising generating streaming media contentbased on the modified arrangement.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thehistory log includes an indication of at least one of a previouslyaccessed media item, media station, artist, and user media rating. 6.The method of claim 1, further comprising: associating the first userwith the modified arrangement; transmitting a request to the first userto share the modified arrangement received from another user; receivingan indication to share the modified arrangement from the first user; andenabling the other user to access the modified arrangement.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, further comprising forming a group between the firstuser and at least one other user based on a threshold parameter of acompatibility rating between the user and the other user based onattributes of the one or more media object identifiers of the modifiedarrangement.
 8. At least one non-transitory computer readable mediumcomprising instructions, which, when executed by at least one processor,cause the at least one processor to: generate a history log of mediadata usage associated with a first user profile of a first user;automatically generate an arrangement, without user interaction, of theone or more media object identifiers for display on a graphical userinterface based on the history log; outputting for display on thegraphical user interface of a client device associated with the firstuser profile, at least a portion of the arrangement of one or more mediaobject identifiers; receiving an override operation, the overrideoperation altering the history log of media data usage; andautomatically modify the one or more media object identifiers of thearrangement in accordance with the altered history log of media datausage.
 9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8,wherein the instructions, which, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to: populate a mark-uplanguage representation based on the modified one or more media objectidentifiers; and transmit the mark-up language representation to aclient device associated with the first user.
 10. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 8, wherein modifying the one or moremedia object identifiers of the arrangement comprises at least one of anaddition, deletion and adjustment of one or more media objectidentifiers.
 11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8,wherein the instructions, which, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to generate streaming mediacontent based on the modified arrangement.
 12. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the history log includes anindication of at least one of a previously accessed media item, mediastation, artist, and user media rating.
 13. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 8, wherein the instructions, which, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processorto: associate the first user with the modified arrangement; transmit arequest to the first user to share the modified arrangement receivedfrom another user; receive an indication to share the modifiedarrangement from the first user; and enable the other user to access themodified arrangement.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 12, wherein the instructions, which, when executed by the at leastone processor, cause the at least one processor to form a group betweenthe first user and at least one other user based on a thresholdparameter of a compatibility rating between the user and the other userbased on attributes of the one or more media object identifiers of themodified arrangement.
 15. A computing device comprising: at least oneprocessor; at least one non-transitory computer readable medium storinginstructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe at least one processor to: generate a history log of media datausage associated with a first user profile of a first user;automatically generate an arrangement, without user interaction, of theone or more media object identifiers for display on a graphical userinterface based on the history log; output for display on the graphicaluser interface of a client device associated with the first userprofile, at least a portion of the arrangement of one or more mediaobject identifiers; receiving an override operation, the overrideoperation altering the history log of media data usage; andautomatically modify the one or more media object identifiers of thearrangement in accordance with the altered history log of media datausage.
 16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the instructions,which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at leastone processor to: populate a mark-up language representation based onthe modified one or more media object identifiers; and transmit themark-up language representation to a client device associated with thefirst user.
 17. The computing device of claim 15, wherein modifying theone or more media object identifiers of the arrangement comprises atleast one of an addition, deletion and adjustment of one or more mediaobject identifiers.
 18. The computing device of claim 15, wherein theinstructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe at least one processor to generate streaming media content based onthe modified arrangement.
 19. The computing device of claim 15, whereinthe history log includes an indication of at least one of a previouslyaccessed media item, media station, artist, and user media rating. 20.The computing device of claim 15, wherein the instructions, which, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processorto: associate the first user with the modified arrangement; transmit arequest to the first user to share the modified arrangement receivedfrom another user; receive an indication to share the modifiedarrangement from the first user; and enable the other user to access themodified arrangement.